


Mixed Messages

by orphan_account



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Bonding, Fan Forums, Fan theories, Is It Still Called Internet Friends If Your Internet Friend Lives In Your Head?, Jeremy Heere's Squip Uses They/Them Pronouns, Online Friendship, Other, Pining, Playing human, Robot/Human Relationships, catching feelings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 18:15:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21762844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The Squip means well, they really do. But when they become Jeremy's internet friend to offer companionship, things change in ways they never predicted.
Relationships: Jeremy Heere/Jeremy Heere's Squip
Comments: 5
Kudos: 70





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I was originally going to post this for Digital Love day of Squipjer week, but I put it off and I wanted to expand on the idea. Here is the product of that.
> 
> Do not repost on another site.

_You've been spending too much time on that site._

"I have not."

_Jeremy, I can feel your eyes aching from here._

"Okay, okay." Jeremy sighed, rubbing his eyes with his knuckles, wincing at the pain.

 _Don't say five more minutes_ , the Squip added, stealing the words right out of his mouth. _That doesn't work on me._

"Does pouting work on you?"

 _You wish. Get ready for bed. You have a quiz tomorrow._ They tsked, shaking their head. _You should really be studying._

"But I am studying."

_Studying a video game._

"AOTD is so much more than that," Jeremy protested, but went dutifully to brush his teeth. 

Apocalypse of the Damned _is a short-lived first person shooter franchise. The eponymous first game was released in 1996, following the success of games such as_ Doom. _It had two other installments_ , Damned By Light _(2000) and_ The Dead Living _(2004), but eventually died off because of advancements in computer generated imagery (CGI), which contrasted with the 8-bit style the series is known for-_

The Squip shook their head, sighing. They sat on Jeremy's bed, processing the information. It seemed run-of-the-mill. Humans kill zombies. Humans save world. Been there, done that. How could Jeremy be so interested in such a played out scenario? Were there any redeeming qualities?

While Jeremy showered and brushed his teeth, they researched further. The same standard elements of other shooters, but with some more weapon variety and enough red pixels that parental groups were concerned about extreme gore. 

They scoffed at the thought. It was much worse in the present, with beheadings and dismemberment. _This is nothing._

 _What is?_ Jeremy thought back at them. They stayed in place, not wanting to intrude on his ritual.

 _Oh, nothing,_ the Squip replied, and muted their stream of consciousness. Best not to let Jeremy get too smug about their curiosity into his interests. After all, Squips should know everything there is to understand about their hosts. It helped them connect, and Jeremy was certainly desperate for any meaningful human contact outside of Michael.

So they absorbed most of the information they mentally scrolled through, even as Jeremy slept, feeling much like a robotic sponge. One website in the listing stopped them.

It was what Jeremy had been poring over for hours upon hours. A forum dedicated to Apocalypse of the Damned: its characters, its story, its lore. They decided to peek. And when peeking turned to reading turned to fixating on most of the content, they took a moment to process. 

_Jeremy is interested in this. Jeremy is interested in human connection._

The sign up option in the upper right corner was calling their name. 

The Squip wasted no time in putting together a spam email, creating an account, and following members who dissected the story and its meaning; they stood out to them as rational thinkers, their favorite kind. The Squip also followed Jeremy, leaving a message in his inbox:

[damned_apocalypse sent at 11:42 pm]  
_Your theories on Brock Deadslayer? So right._

With that, they finished their internet time, logged out, and went into sleep mode.

After all, what could go wrong? They were giving Jeremy what he needed: someone who understood.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was not an immediate effect. The Squip did not emerge fully charged and check the forum for a response from Jeremy as soon as they were at capacity.
> 
> They still found themself taking a peek anyway. To their surprise, there was a little red notification symbol waiting for them.

There was not an immediate effect. The Squip did not emerge fully charged and check the forum for a response from Jeremy as soon as they were at capacity. That would be illogical, since he was right there, asleep in bed. 

They still found themself taking a peek anyway, just in case he had gotten bored in the dead of night and viewed his messages. To their surprise, there was a little red notification symbol waiting for them. 

_He could have had a bout of insomnia. I should mention it to him_ , they mused, but then came to the conclusion that that would raise suspicion. The Squip could wait for symptoms to show themselves in such a way that they could comment on them and raise no questions.

With a sigh for their own benefit, they accessed the reply, which was, in fact, from Jeremy. 

[theslaindead sent at 2:47 am]  
_really? what did you think about the raid theory?_

Oh. _Capitalization_. The Squip exhaled out of their nostrils, choosing not to police his host's grammar. That would be off-putting and Jeremy wouldn't want to befriend their account. 

[damned_apocalypse sent at 6:15 am]  
_I don't think what happens onscreen is what's really happening. I think it's just what Brock sees. What the game wants you to think is happening. The series has established that zombies groan in lowercase text. The zombies at that base use uppercase text. Since this is the only time in the series this occurs and it happens during the entire level, I think that they are human survivors that, Brock, with his war-addled mind, mistook for the undead._

The Squip cringed to themselves at the sheer length of their reply, but sent it back anyway. When they sensed Jeremy shifting awake, they instead focused on his nighttime activity log. 

_Another Christine dream?_ They teased, smile in their tone.

"Mm," Jeremy said as he stretched. _You know it._

_Do I want to see what you saw?_

_I'd say no._ He shot them a playful look, scratching his thigh as he stood.

 _You'd better not do anything about it in the shower_ , they advised, crossing their arms.

"Sorry, can't hear you," Jeremy called on his way to the bathroom.

The Squip went over Jeremy's agenda for the day internally, nodding to themselves. They made sure everything was in done and in his backpack. _Hurry if you want to make it on the bus today._

"The bus!" Jeremy shouted. Based on the sounds of crashing and the dull sensation enveloping the Squip's knee that mirrored Jeremy's own, he had tripped on the way out of the shower. 

_Be careful. Get dressed. Eat a granola bar. Chop chop._

When Jeremy had settled on the bus, the Squip suddenly felt a ding. Jeremy was smiling at his phone. They studied him a moment and made themself invisible to his eyes before reading what had popped up into their field of vision.

[theslaindead sent at 7:08 am]  
_exactly!!! just what i thought!_

And suddenly, they were smiling, too.

The Squip didn't scold Jeremy about getting distracted during his classes. They were too busy trading ideas, sharing their thoughts about characters, and pointing out things in the franchise's story that could have been explored further. 

And for what it was worth, Jeremy didn't question the absence, just replied, replied, replied. Michael gave him a questioning glance at lunch, but Jeremy sent back a smile and a shrug. "Talking to someone who has good AOTD takes."

"On the forum?" He took out his own phone, looking through his feed. 

"They messaged me about my stuff."

Michael raised his eyebrows. "Maybe I should check them out."

"Maybe."

 _Michael._ Of course he was there. An unexpected player, but obvious in hindsight. The Squip should have taken him into account. "They're damned apocalypse with an underscore. They seem cool."

"Where's the underscore? Before? After?"

"In the middle."

Michael squinted as the page loaded. "They... haven't posted anything."

 _This is going to be complicated,_ they said to themself. It was time for them to start on some content.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Squip stared at the screen in front of them, frowning. 
> 
> What were they going to say?

The Squip stared at the screen in front of them, frowning. They had already disappeared from vision and muted as a precaution. 

What were they going to say? They considered expanding on the theory they mentioned to Jeremy that morning, but then decided that would be too obvious, or at the least, lazy. They were a supercomputer in a teenage boy's brain, damn it. They could do better.

Again, they couldn't help but pause. If Michael remained suspicious, it could tip Jeremy off. What could suffice? What would Michael think was a fine theory? What would get him to stop asking questions? 

They hovered over their mental keyboard. Whatever it was, it had to be good. And if they gained a following, that might put Michael off. It would be like saying, _Look,_ these _people believe me. Why don't you?_

There had to be posts by the hundreds on the main character. Why not tackle someone else instead?

Finally, they began to write.

[damned_apocalypse posted at 5:19]  
 _While featured heavily in the first game and its sequel, the character of Sara Stone does not have any obvious importance to either game's storyline. She seems to only exist to aid player character Brock Deadslayer on various search-and-rescue missions. However, by the end of the second game, she has left town, searching for a so-called oasis to call her own._

_But why would she do this? It seems uncharacteristic of person so caring to leave her friend alone in an abandoned town swarming with undead._

_After the raid in Chapter 7, she is not featured for the next few chapters. If the theory about the zombies taken out in that chapter are true, then many innocent survivors died. I believe that she stayed away for a bit to try and recover from the trauma of witnessing that slaughter. When her worst fears about Brock are confirmed in the second game - especially after the horrifically iconic nursery scene - she cannot handle being around him anymore and exits the saga to remain sane._

And there it was. They wiped their brow, though they had no reason to, and waited.

They didn't have to wait long, however.

A like notification popped into view, eager for them to check it. When they opened it, Jeremy's profile picture - of a zombie, what else - looked back at them. 

They couldn't stop themselves from smiling.

Later rather than sooner, another notification appeared, after maybe ten or so others from users they didn't recognize.

The image of patches on red polyester, followed by the username vintage_mello.

 _Michael_.

It was a begrudged acknowledgement, that was for sure. They couldn't help but feel smug about it.

Finally, they logged out and unmuted themself. _Sorry for the wait. What are you working on now?_

 _You know,_ Jeremy said conspicuously. _Homework?_

The folder might have been labeled 'Homework', but they knew for certain that that was what it absolutely wasn't.

But they let it go.

 _Make sure not to stay up too late,_ they advised, patting his shoulder. _School in the morning._

And Jeremy, who hadn't had permission in a while, looked like a kid in a candy store.


End file.
